It Began on the Stairs
by LavenderSpice
Summary: A freshman girl's simple crush on a senior boy becomes so much more after they meet on the stairs... TohruxKyo slightly OC
1. Chapter 1

Lindzi jumped up the stairs two at a time

**A/N: I'm finally writing a fanfic. I'm pretty sure that I'll write more chapters after this one to develop a more complex plot with more people (the furuba cast and other OC's). This is more like an introduction to the story, but I hope it'll become more. Please review so I know if I should continue! .**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket sigh**

** 0 **

Jumping up the stairs two at a time Tohru thought determinedly, _today's the day I'm going to tell him._ She had been trying to tell him for over a month, but every time she saw or talked to him she couldn't say the simple words- _I like you._ To her it wasn't simple at all. Mostly because the huge difference between them: she's a freshman and he's a senior.

She was jolted back from her thoughts when she bumped into someone. Time seemed to slow down as she lost her balance and started falling back down the stairs. Why do I have to be so clumsy? She braced herself for impact, but it never happened. Instead, she felt herself pulled back up quickly and pressed against something.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, so at first she didn't notice that she was clutching someone's chest, but then her heart slowed down and she looked up. Immediately her eyes locked with the guy holding her and he smiled.

"Are you okay?" It took awhile for the words to sink in, but eventually Tohru nodded and blushed. It was _him_! The guy she's been dreaming about for months and all she could do was stand there like an idiot.

She gasped and stepped back, "I'm sorry," she mumbled and looked at the ground. "No problem," he replied with a caring smile, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Those few words sent her head spinning. The world was becoming more and fuzzier as her knees gave out and she fainted.

** 0 **

TBC...maybe...?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the late update

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I get writer's block often -.- I decided to write a longer chappy this time, so please read on...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket cries in a corner**

-o-0-o-

"Where am I?" Tohru said quietly as she sat up and took in her surroundings. Oh great, the infirmary. She sighed and flopped back down on her pillow. Se couldn't believe what had happened. Suddenly seeing Kyo there must have startled her so much that she fainted.

"How embarrassing," she groaned. Then she looked to her left and froze. He was sitting right there looking at her attentively. How had she not seen him? Why didn't he speak up?

He was actually too caught up in his own thoughts. He was just watching her sleep so peacefully. She almost looked angelic.

Coming back to earth he coughed and said, "Oh, you're awake." He avoided her gaze and continued, "You've been out for awhile. The nurse said you were fine."

"Oh, um thank you so much! I'm really fine," she smiled trying not to show how nervous she was.

"Okay, well be more careful. Someone isn't always going to be there when you're clumsy." With that he stood up and walked towards the door. He turned around before leaving and gave her a small smile. She just waved, but when he was gone she let out the breath she was holding in and suddenly felt exhausted.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and thought about what had just happened. Sadness lingered from when he had left so early, but also a little relief since it was slightly awkward. Glancing at the clock she realized that school was almost over. Then it hit her: he had waited there even though the nurse said she was fine. He must have checked on her all day when he had spare time to be there when she woke up. Tohru was so happy that she didn't notice her two best friends coming in the door.

"Hey Tohru," Hanajima said, "I see you're awake." She smiled a little and then starred off into space.

Tohru looked up, "Oh, yes. I'm okay. I just almost fell—"

"Just?!" Arisa jut in loudly, "You almost fell down those huge stairs! You could have hit your head and died!" She took a few breaths and continued, "But no. Instead you faint right into some random senior's arms and get taken to the infirmary. I guess I should be relieved, but I get worked up over you ever since Kyoko—" Arisa stopped mid-sentence and quickly changed the subject, "The point is you're okay. So just try not to work too hard."

She patted Tohru's shoulder, but the damage had been done. A heavy silence settled for awhile. Tohru's smile was gone with the happiness a little while before. Hanajima saw this and half-hugged her, "It's okay. Exams are coming, but I know you'll do fine."

"Thanks Hana, " Tohru attempted a half smile and picked up her schoolbag, "Well I'm heading out. See you guys later." She then left the room and headed in a random direction. Exams were only a few weeks away and she had totally forgotten!

She walked slower and finally slumped down against the wall. Juggling school and work was just too hard, but she had to graduate! Because mom...

"Hey...Tohru?" Kyo kneeled down in front of her, worried, "Is something wrong?"

For a second she didn't realize he was there, but then she mustered a smile from god knows where and declared, "I'm totally fine!" She proceeded to stand up quickly, but ended up feeling dizzy and sat back down, sighing. She brought her knees to her chest and starred at them.

Kyo looked at her intently for a second and then sat down against the wall next to her. He stared at the opposite wall, "You don't have to hide it around me," his face reddened from saying it, but he continued. "It's okay to admit that something's wrong, then you can fix it."

Tohru stared at the ground for a second. "Well it's just work and school," she sighed and chanced a glance at him. Kyo was still starring at the opposite wall...His orange hair shimmered in the light and he looked a few years older. A small smile touched his lips and Tohru found herself starring at them. He just looked way too cool!

"Everyone has problems with school," he chuckled, "Everyone has problems, period. Sometimes we get stuck on them for awhile, but in the end most things work out. It's better not to stress too much over one ting and just d your best. Fainting is definitely unhealthy." Tohru smiled and nodded a little.

Wondering if she really understood, Kyo put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, "I'm pretty good at school, so if you ever need help or someone to talk to, just look for me." After he said it he blushed and looked away.

Tohru just sat there in amazement. Did Kyo Sohma just make that offer to **me**? Happiness, excitement, and distinct confusion tumbled inside her head and she was barely able to get out an "Um, o-okay," before bolting away. At the end of the hall she regained her senses and looked back, "Thanks!" she shouted and waved a good-bye before turning the corner.

o-0-o

Tohru walked up to the door of her apartment out of breath. She kicked her shoes off once inside, and ran to the small photo of her mom. "Hey mom," Tohru said, still catching her breath, "I know I've slacked a little lately, but from now on I'm going to work as hard as I can without overdoing it. I got some really good advice from Kyo." She blushed just from saying his name. "He's amazing! He was so kind to me, and I kind of like him." She smiled and went into the kitchen to make dinner.

Five minutes later a loud sizzling noise and a horrible smell snapped Tohru out of her trance. She cried out and quickly grabbed the pan off the stove. The pain didn't register at first, but she suddenly dropped it and ran cold water over her hand.

She had been daydreaming about Kyo. _Could he ever return my feelings?_ She looked down at her bright red hand and grimaced from the pain. _I need to focus when I'm doing stuff_. Her hand felt as if the heat was still painfully pulsing through it.

After covering her hand with a white bandage she cleaned up and went to bed without food. She didn't feel like eating anyway.

o-0-o

Tohru came out of the school bathroom where she had been running cold after over her hand. _That was refreshing_. She walked over to Hana and Arisa, who were immediately concerned about what had happened. "Are you okay?" and "Does it hurt?" were the only things they said as they headed to their first class. Tohru simply replied with nodding and shaking her head. This was going to be a long day.

o-0-o

_Tohru's sitting in a field of beautiful wildflowers. 'How pretty' she plucks one from the ground and brings it to her nose. 'It smells wonderful.' 'Tohruuuuu!!' she turns toward the voice and sees Kyo walking towards her. "Oh hello Kyo. The flowers smell wonderful.' He smiles, but doesn't see her, 'Toooohruuuu!' 'I'm right here!' she shouts, suddenly feeling uneasy. He finally spots her and kneels down in front of her. "I know,' he says softly, 'but it's time for you to wake up...'_

"Tohru Honda!" the teacher said loudly and sternly for the third time. Tohru gasped, standing up quickly, "Yes? Oh, um, sorry...about that," her voice grew softer and she sat down.

"Thank you for joining us today, Ms. Honda," he gave her a stern look, then continued, "Now about the Pythagorean Theory..." Tohru lost interest again, but managed to say awake by writing Kyo's name in her notebook about 100 times.

After class the teacher motioned her over to talk to her. "I saw you writing so much in your notebook," he gave her another stern look, "I hope they were notes, since the exams are only a few weeks away. I want you to get more sleep so you're not sleeping in class. For that you have clean up duty for today." With that he waved her off and went to torture another student.

Tohru was already caught up with her own thoughts. _Exams?! Why does everyone keep talking about them? I'm so tired from work. How am I going to pass those?_ Arisa spotted her worried expression and hurried over. They walked to the vending machine and then parted ways. _Could this day get any more stressful? And that dream...?_

o-0-o

Tohru blinked rapidly and noticed a hand waving in front of her face. She looked around and realized that she had spaced out. "Hello? Are you going to sit down?" Arisa said and practically pulled Tohru down beside her. Hana spread her black dress around her and turned to Tohru, "You spaced out for a good minute after we choose this spot. Is anything wrong?" She looked slightly curious, but when Tohru quickly dismissed it as nothing and tried to change the subject she turned her attention to her food.

"I can't wait for winter," Arisa tried to start a conversation; "I want to try skiing."

Tohru caught on, "That'd be fun! Oh and all of the pure white snow would be beautiful..." They continued to discuss winter plans and cold weather for awhile.

Suddenly they felt a whoosh of air and glimpsed some giggling girls with scarves over their mouths running away.

"What the--?" Arisa said, then started cracking up when she realized who they were, "Those were the Prince Yuki fan girls. They are so annoying." After that they packed up and went to class.

--

Tohru had a different class from them so she waved and set off down another hallway. Those fan girls are definitely odd. What did they do? She mused to herself and then saw someone leaning against the wall with their head in their hands.

"Um, excuse me. Are you okay?" Tohru asked and tapped the person on the shoulder. He looked up and immediately straightened up. Tohru's eyes widened. He's so pretty and his silver hair...Yuki Sohma!

Yuki smiled wearily at her, "Just a little...tired." Actually he was way more than tired. He was extremely and immensely exhausted from dealing with some crazed girls and a black haired vice president. The last thing he wanted to do was worry a random freshman, a cute one at that.

Tohru guessed what it was about, and decided not to push him any farther. "Oh, okay. Well I'll see you around."

Yuki smiled half-heartedly and gave a little wave, "Okay..." She started walking away, thinking about what those girls could have done.

He wondered if she knew something, but then a wave of nausea passed through him and his knees have out. Tohru heard a loud thump and spun around. She looked down to see Yuki's slumped form on the floor. Immediately she went to his side and tried to help him up.

He's definitely not okay. She propped him up against the wall. With a glance she realized there was no one nearby, and started to panic. She was about to pass out herself when a hand shook her shoulder.

--

Kyo turned the corner and looked down the hall to see a panicking Tohru and an almost unconscious Yuki. He sighed to himself and walked over. "Seriously, you get in the weirdest situations. Let's take him to the infirmary." Kyo bent down and picked Yuki up. Not only does he have to work so hard that he's too exhausted to walk, but now he's getting Tohru all worked up.

As they walked Kyo glanced at Tohru every now and then while she recalled what had happened. At first she was really flustered, but now she looked concerned and almost motherly. Kyo's heart fluttered and a blush tinged his cheeks. When he looked at her again he had that same feeling. His eyes traced her face and the curve of her lips-

Why was he feeling this way? He shouldn't. There's too much of an age difference, and they'd only talked twice before. Kyo found himself thinking of her smile and the softness of her voice. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice her glancing at him.

--

She was so nervous she couldn't believe she was walking with her crush. She tried to keep talking, but just being next to him made it almost impossible to talk. When they arrived at the nurse's office Tohru saw him deep in thought.

He looked so perfect she felt the strong urge to reach up and touch his cheek. Instead she pulled herself together and shook him a little. For the second time that day she asked, "Are you okay? Kyo?"

He couldn't help but think about how his name sounded coming from her. After a second he looked down and lied, "Yeah I'm fine. Let's hand him over."

They both talked to the nurse and left the office together. Tohru looked down and quietly said, "Well, I'm going home now." She was so busy telling herself to breath that she almost jumped when his hand touched her cheek. He then lifted her head up so they locked eyes.

They were both lost in the window of the other's soul. Toru's heart beat shook her body and time slowed to a steady crawl. Kyo felt the burning desire to hold her and keep her near him forever. They both just starred, frozen, until Kyo's face turned red and he dropped his hand.

He was just being delusional. He'd only end up leaving her and hurting her. He didn't even know how she felt.

She mentally slapped herself back into reality. He was a senior and would be leaving. Her simple crush (or was it more than that?) would never be recognized.

He swallowed and said, "Okay, take care," he tried to be casual, but ended up sounding strained and unnatural. Then he turned around and walked away. He went around the corner and leaned against the wall.

Tohru was flustered and confused about what had just happened, but she eventually walked away down the opposite end of the hall. When she turned into the next hall she leaned against the wall, touching her cheek. She asked herself, _I can't believe that happened_, unknowingly thinking the same thing as him.

-o-0-o-

**Hope you liked it! Even though it didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to (I think I might've gone too fast). Sorry for the OCness. Please R & R.**


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